The bus unloaded and we went into an office where we had to show our passport and give $1 to leave Vietnam. From there we had to walk a 10 minute walk down the road to another office where we were given 2 different forms to fill out and then we had to pay in US dollars the fee to get a Laos Visa which will be good for 30 days. The US citizens have to pay $35 which was one of the more expensive fees, and additionally we all had to pay $2 (one for a weekend processing fee and another for some random fee). I definitely recommend bring lots of change ($1, $5 notes etc) because they seem to be terrible about doing the math and it became really frustrating for lots of people. Also, you needed a passport photo as well.
The whole border crossing process went fairly smoothly for everyone and we probably completed it within 3 hours maximum. After I was all finished, I sat down at this small make shift restaurant just beyond the Laos border where the bus driver was sitting and had some soup for lunch with them. They attempted to teach me how to speak some words
Laos
Hello- Sabadee
Thank you- Khawp jai lai lai
It was a good time, and I could already tell that Laos was going to be great. We continued driving for a few hours with one rest stop along the way. The landscape was amazing, with farms, hills, and beautiful greenery everywhere.
4pm we made it to Vientiane, Laos. This was earlier than I expected and great surprize to me! The form of transport in Laos is tuk tuks, so a great of us got a tuck tuk to the city center and then went to a hotel that was recommended by the Lonely Planet.
The SEA games (SE asia athletic event) was taking place in Vientiane, so the city was full of tourists and accomadation was hard to find. I wanted to seperate from 3 of the people I had taken the taxi with (a loud, obnoxious New Yorker and 2 angry polish guys), so I said that I was going to look for a room myself. I told Conrad, the nice canadian, that if he wanted to share he could, but I couldn't handle the other obnoxious travelers.
I ventured to a mini mart to get a coffee and when I was inside I ran into 2 pretty australian girls that were friendly and suggested I stay at the Orchid Guest House next door. Orchid was decently priced (160,000 kip about $18 a night) for a double room with hot water, tv, and air conditioner.
Conrad and I were content with that and stayed there, and fortunately the others ventured elsewhere. I quickly got my running gear on and headed around the city to check it out before it got too dark.
As I was running through the city, cute boutiques, salons, martini bars, and massage shops tempted me at every corner. Smiling faces and a laid back attitude seemed to be the way in Laos. I was happy to be out of the chaos of Vietnam and felt overjoyed at the peaceful, classy city we had arrived in.
I managed to find an internet cafe and was emailing and such, when I looked over and there was Conrad. We walked back to the hotel together and I got ready and we went out for dinner. I was hungry but up for anything, so we decided to eat at the plastic tables that were set up along the banks of the Mekong River that runs next to Vientiane.
We drank Laos beer, and talked about traveling. When our food arrived we were amazed! I had ordered the Laos chicken soup, which came in a terra cotta hot pot and I got to cook it myself. Vegetables, chicken, and an egg I added to the pot while I let it cook for 3 minutes before indulging.
The night was perfect and the possibilities of shopping, sightseeing, and relaxing filled me with anticipation as I fell asleep for my first night in Laos.
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